Abstract
One of the most striking features of all animals — and this includes humans — is their tendency to be social. This social behaviour can take various forms. Sometimes animals exist in pairs, sometimes in larger groupings, flocks, herds or schools. This chapter sets out to show how these forms of social organization can be the result of natural selection and the genes that individual animals carry. It can be an advantage to a species to group together with others. Animals that carry genes which tend to make them interact with others in particular ways will, in the right circumstances, have an advantage and the genes they carry will be passed on.
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Further reading
Lea, S.E.G. (1984). Instinct, Environment and Behaviour. London: Methuen. Makes some very useful comparisons between human and animal behaviour, particularly in the area of parenting and the upbringing of offspring.
Manning, A. and Dawkins, M. (1992). Animal Behaviour, 4th edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Contains a good account of mating systems and social organization within a number of species, and provides an excellent account of animal behaviour from a biological standpoint.
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© 1998 Tony Malim and Ann Birch
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Malim, T., Birch, A. (1998). Social behaviour of animals. In: Introductory Psychology. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14186-9_22
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14186-9_22
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-66852-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-14186-9
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